Saatchi Art today announced Hormazd Narielwalla as the winner of "The Body Electric" Showdown competition, its signature quarterly art prize. The prize, which attracted more than 4,000 entries in a period of just 14 days, is one of the most highly-submitted art prizes in the world.
Acclaimed artist Raffi Kalenderian, acting as judge for the final round of the competition, announced his selections for the top ten finalists, naming Hormazd Narielwalla as the winner and Maarten Van Den Bos as the runner-up. Narielwalla and Van Den Bos will receive cash prizes in the amounts of $1,000 USD and $500 USD respectively. Kalenderian selected his finalists from a shortlist of 30 art-ists determined by a jury led by Saatchi Art's chief curator, Rebecca Wilson.
Praising the high standard of the entries, Kalenderian said: "I loved the colors and composition of Hormazd Narielwalla's piece. The scale of the work also seemed perfect. When I read about his process of making collages and finding radical abstraction within antique tailoring patterns, sourced from a Parisian fashion magazine, I thought: 'This is an artist after my own heart.'"
"Maarten Van Den Bos' work struck me as wonderfully beguiling. The scale for this work seemed important, too. I wish I could see it in person. The line between figuration and abstraction is handled in a superior way. There is a psychic energy between the figures, and I dig it."
Launched in 2010 as an opportunity for art collectors to discover emerging artists from around the world, Showdown is a competition hosted by Saatchi Art for artists to showcase their work and have the chance for it to be judged by internationally celebrated artists and curators. Kalenderian, widely praised for his observational portraits within richly textured backgrounds, joins previous judges who have included Barnaby Furnas, Ged Quinn, Wangechi Mutu, Peter Coffin, Dexter Dalwood, Matthias Weischer, Chantal Joffe, and Jaime Gili.
The works of the 10 finalists are available for viewing online at
www.saatchiart.com/showdown. The finalists include Hormazd Narielwalla (UK), Maarten Van Den Bos (UK), Anna Madia (France), Ronny Broeckx (Belgium), Wilfrid Moizan (Saint-Martin, French West Indies), Kirsten Strauss (USA), Julien Corcoran Porisse (France), Stephan Fowlkes (USA), Melinda Matyas (UK), and Kathryn Dunlevie (USA).
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Photo Credit: L-R: Showdown Winner Hormazd Narielwalla's "Le Petit Echo de la Mode, No. 5" and Runner-Up Maarten Van Den Bos' "Forest Conspiracy."
